Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-07-23
fAA 1Sssf RUOODf.
The sssNc Of UsslsUsasa's sssa Discovery Jssl
0ssy Oaasdsd 10 . Wo0aas Dss0m For
Over TvOnsy Yeara.

RE ssisc of OssiSusais's 0ssa Dlsoovssy Jsai-
0ssy 0aasdsA 10 . W0naaV 0ssom For
over TWsesy Hesrs
from the san Francisco Examiner.
In one Of Tho glass cases Of the state Min
sralogicai bureau 10 . small si,ded oast rep
gold nugget A Gard underneath
tesignstsa u - model Of the first gold mug.
got found in California
Tho eye Of the strolling reporter was caught
by this annouucom0nt - no hastoned 10
make inquiry Of Secretary burden ~ 70 tho
pUslbls truthfulnsss Of the statement and
tho genuinoss Of the relic Mr.. burden stated
that no hsd every reason " 10 convinced
the csst was from the original nugget now In /
poHssssion Of this city.
Mr.. Allen, wben called upon said "iSA
have Ia my possessiOn Whist l have no |
doubt In the original gold nugget found In |
lSis by Msvbali and Wemmer In the txilrsce |
Of the COloma sawmill I have held the val. |
uable relic In trust for tho Wemmers since
1871.
"In that year wss engaged by some set
tiers upon some disputed lands In the
southern portion Ot Los Angeles county ~
contest their ciaimA One afternoon while
In their colony ran scross very old man,
named Potor Wsmtner, bent almost double
low, whose mind and memory were siDgu-
larly clear. Our conversation driftsd from
law ~ generalities, aud found him an ex-
ooeaingiy in.eresung cna,ac, as,ss,, ,, viii "'eu,
~, ~ H.. ~. rn. ~ ,no nide.t n,nn.a,s
uS .i-s, ny" ~, =. ne v,,h a .rsh.l, ,"nan 10
picked up the famous gold nugget He
nnS.et In Ssr !,s.c".,nr
a.ov.
. 10Y jay is'S, NY Tno . "u =. 80
the nugget Mrs. Wemmer became somewhat
excited, and finally, upon my pressing my
leIuess, sno uhOutsonod tn0 uwm y. no'
drcss ana drew oGt DundIe 0i ciosn, Wt
poa ssn', sno pe!hsP" larger snsh ny nSS ~
oolnK nusPenoed Oy . stink aIounu nol
neck. The old woman, trembling with excits
| nion., P.oouou " .nho out 'n1 ~ ns,nn III
| Plns shu unw!sP tnS puha,o. non apoL .o,'
| Ws unWouno, snn nhs,y sne ie.,, Ies.nou
| uBn.iy ,oiueu s1UhiDk. Ihla sne , siu"y yii, VII
ShS ia'u n IN ,n ,ne PAIN Oh my na"u'
.no n"seo.
| Whe mas cArrieu thst os!l AIounG no,
| neck day snd night Tor twenty years, sa,o
| has ever let touch II for many years.
TT In the same that now show you, said
Mr.. Allen, passing TO the reporter the lump
Of gold.
II WAS small, simOst hat and q rather rough
l piece of gold, Just one inch ACROSS its lODges,
way. 1t was quite thin around the outer
isnge, with considerable depression on one
side. 1t weighs between third and quar-
II
l gold.
"w When we left these old people," contin
| ued MIR. Allen, " Mira Wemmer placed th'
| nugget In my hand and legged me to take 4
with me and put 1t IN some safe place
| bank or safe. She said she WAS almost afraiC
to keep 30 valuable . relic longer herself
SO took IL, and 1t has been with me eve
since.
The Wemmsrs crossed the plains to CalifOr
| mia In 1916, While living at suffers Fort they
| made the acquaintance of James Marshall
| He came to their cabin sick and WAS takeI
| in and cared for by Mrs, Wemmer. After
| wards Colonel Sutter suggested to Wemms
and Marshall the project OF building the saw
mill on the A merican river. They accepted
and with . gang OF men went up to the desig
| mated spot Wsmner was millwright of tn
expedition and Marshall was foreman of tn
, | work.
Mys wemmer wss cook. and all the mel
| omnioved hosr,,ed with hsr. Thev first buil
: | n dam scrors the river. and from this sluic
. wss run. In digging out the river bed fo
/ the mill dam would fe closed and the dil
. would he shoyelsd into the sluice, AT nipi
= / the vster would la turned ON and the cart
!. . / Wsshed away. IL Wss mot long before nun
4 | bsrs Of bright specks were noticed sticking
" | the crevices Of the sluics in the morniu
!, when the water was turned oil, and discu
IA sion arose among the people OF the camp ss
what those bright spects were. Mra WeI
mer had lived some time In the Georgia 20
mines, and she pronounced them gol
cluding Marshall. one morning Marshi
and Wsmmer went out early to shut OIL &
water of the sluice. They were waikiki
down the tailrace whom Marshall sudden
stopped and picked up something from q
!. box.
~ "There Wetnmer," he said, "what do "
call that?''
}" Wemmer took the piece OF metal, glsnc'
at II and said
p' "Thst certainly IL gold"
u swell, 1t looks like It, 1 confess" r. Join'
Marshall "lt looks much more like u
', real stuff than anything we have seen yet "
~ Wemmers boy, a lad OF ten or twelve, b,
come up just at that moment, and Wemm
gave him the nugget, saying: take this
D. your mother, anu tell her TO boil 1t in q
soap kettle"
Mira Wemmer was at that time mskii
soft soap, which, you know, Is done by 10
ing old bones and grease with ashes al
forming = strong alkaline solution. 81
70 threw ths nugget into the boiling mixtur
The next morning at breakfast con nversatit
recurred to the incident OF the finding OF u
ri nugget, and Mrs. Wemmer was asked VIII
20 she had done with it
4. "pll fetch 1t" she said. She ran cut ba.
to the log which had been followed out, al
into which she had poured the SOAP. Fro
- the bottom Of this she drew out the nugg'
b She carried 1t to the break fast table and
WAS examined by the mon. ltwas not bac
- ened, but more FURNISHED by the test Ev'
then Marshall had doubts. Wemmer, hO
/ ever, insisted that some one should take q